March 11, 2004: Events on the battlefield alone do not always dictate the course of the war. The reports of the battle given by the media will have an effect, too, particularly in the age of twenty-four hour news networks like CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. These, as well as newspapers, pretty much function as intelligence agencies, albeit they are in it to make a profit, not to protect a country. [emphasis cannoneer's] The media front is one not often discussed. It is there, nonetheless, and it often has a decisive effect on a war. The 1993 firefight in Mogadishu...
